The U.A.E. is in a region drought with strife and inner turmoil, bordering nations like Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Quatar.
The Flag of the United Arab Emirates
Unlike many of its neighbors, the United Arab Emirates seems to have avoided the “Arab Spring” (a 2011 revolt against many Middle Eastern governments) that has caused so much unrest in the Middle East. In fact, even after the 2008 worldwide slump in economy, the country is thriving. With an average income of $57,744 dollars per person, the U.A.E. is one of the wealthiest countries in proportion to its population. It has benefitted greatly form the discovery of crude oil within the region.
However, in 2011, the country has become subject to much civil unrest. Citizens and journalists alike have been oppressed and treated unjustly by its government. As a result, the FreedomHouse has rated this countries media as being “Not Free.”("Freedom House.")
Walled Al-Shehhi
Journalism Heroes Just like many other countries experiencing their own inner turmoil, the United Arab Emirates has its own fair share of journalism "martyrs," who have been punished for their efforts to express and uphold their right to free speech and expression. One such prominent martyr is Waleed Al-Shehhi, a human rights defender in the U.A.E. In an earlier case in July 2013, 94 Islamic cyber revolutionaries were apprehended by U.A.E. authorities "seeking to oppose the basic principles of the UAE system of governance and to seize power" ("Gulf Center"). This case, widely covered by both national and international news outlets, has been condemned by the Human Rights Watch, as the case supposedly violated many fair trial guarantee's. One particularly outspoken opponent of the trial was none other than Waleed Al-Shehhi, who was outspoken against this trial on Twitter and other social media websites. In May 2013, he was apprehended by local authorities for violating Federal Legal Decree No.5/2012, which criminalizes the use of "information technology tocriticize senior officials, argue for political reform, or organize unlicensed demonstrations" (Freedom House), which has violated many international standards on human rights. He was jailed for two years, and "fined 500,000 dirhams (the equivalent of 137,000 U.S. dollars)". ("Gulf Center".) Both Walleed and many of the revolutionaries were sentenced to several years in prison.
U.A.E. Government andConstitution
The United Arab Emirates is a federal state that was established on the 2nd of December in 1971. its constitution was drafted in 1971, became permanent in 1996, and was last amended in 2009. It consists of seven distinct regions, known as emirates, which are: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Um Al Quwain, Ras Al Kaimah, and Fujaraih.
Each emirate is ruled by a Sheikh, and the seven rulers form the Supreme Council, the most influential legislative body in the United Arab Emirates. "The Supreme Council exhibits both executive and legislative powers. It ratifies federal laws and decrees, as well as the nomination and resignation of a prime minister."("The World Factbook".) The Cabinet, or Council of Ministers, advisors to the executive branch, are appointed by the president. "The Federal National Council is the foremost legislative body in the U.A.E"., proposing new laws and legislation (:The World Factbook".) It consists of twenty members elected by the Supreme Council, and the other twenty are voted on by the nation's people. The current president, Khalifa bin Zayid al-Nuhayyan, was elected by the Supreme Council, will serve for a five year term, though there is no limit to the number of terms he can have.
Despite being a relatively new country in a region fraught with turmoil, the U.A.E. has taken baby steps in insuring human rights are well represented. The country actively follows these human rights conventions:
Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment
Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD
International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)
Convention on the Rights of the Child
Amendment to Article 43(2) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (Palermo Convention) and its Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (Palermo Protocol)
Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam
Declaration of the Member States of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference
Arab Charter on Human Rights
(Above list provided by "Freedom House.")
However, many facets of human rights are still ignored. A decree was recently passed criminalizing the use of technology to criticize government officials, however peacefully or respectfully done. In addition, laws prohibit the assembly of peaceful demonstrations. Voting rights are very limited, as citizens may only vote for a small portion of elected officials. Other elections are primarily made by the president or Supreme Council. Current Events
Currently, the United Arab Emirates haven taken increased measures to provide safety to its people. The Middle East is a warzone in the present day, such as the current conflict between Palestine and Israel. Its close neighbors, Israel and Palestine, are having heated conflicts concerning the distribution of land in Gaza Strip (a small area of land near the edge of Israel.) The conflict has deescalated, and is no longer a physical war, but the United Arab Emirates is still strengthening its defenses. They have plans to spend $7,000,000,000 on defense contracts in the coming days.
Recently, despite its recovering economy, the United Arab Emirates has been experiencing much political turmoil. Many protestors and revolutionaries have called for greater public involvement in government, and it was only recently that the government has begun to heed these calls. In 2012, the U.A.E. outlawed the use of social media to criticize its government, as a result of nearby protests in Bahrain. Al-Islah, a group formed to help create democracy in the U.A.E., has recently been accused of being foreign agents of the Muslim Brotherhood, and has been aggressively cracked down on. This includes the "UAE's recent security actions targeting the local Muslim Brotherhood group al-Islah ("Reform"). Ninety-four individuals -- most of them al-Islah members arrested over the past year -- are on trial for coordinating with foreign groups and plotting to seize power, among other charges, and the crown prince is widely conjectured to be at the center of the clampdown."("Boghardt")
Censorship and Oppression in the U.A.E. Despite being less prone to inner turmoil that its neighbors, the U.A.E. still insists upon suppressing the freedom of speech within its citizens includes:
January 2014: The Wolf of Wall Street, upon being released in the U.A.E., is found to have almost 45 minutes of content removed from the original. This was done by local movie directors, and hundreds of sex and drug use scenes were removed.
November 2010: Both the The Sunday Times and The Times were ordered off the shelves for painting the rulers of Dubai in an unflattering light. "The Sunday Times featured an illustration of the ruler of Dubai sinking in a sea of debt, and The Times ran a story describing the ruler of Dubai as a "benign dictator"."("Self-Censorship Rears Its Ugly Head")
July 2014: A Ugandan journalist working for the government run English newspaper The National was fired for describing his life in the United Arab Emirates. "The book, titled The Ambitious Struggle: An African Journalist's Journey of Hope and Identity In A Land of Migrants, described the hardships a migrant worked faced in the U.A.E."("Emirates-Ugandan Journalist"). Because the book was not O.K.ed' by his superiors, and painted his boss in an unfavorable light, he was fired. As a result, he must leave the country, and the book is one of many book banned in the U.A.E..
November 17, 2007: Two local Pakistani news station in Dubai are abruptly banned. Although free expression and freedom of speech are guaranteed in Dubai's Media City, the government cited " a sensitive state of affairs" in Pakistan and the city's need to maintain neutrality as reasons for the media blackout.
U.A.E. Newspaper
Journalist Safety
Journalists experience many problems in the United Arab Emirates. One of these would be censorship. Any document that speaks ill of the government can lead to indefinite detention, and torture. The U.A.E. 94, a group of online bloggers, have remained in jail for months for posts they made that violated what the freedom of speech the government allowed in their new cyber crime laws. According to the website Freedom House, "U.A.E. Federal Law No. 15 of 1980 for Printed Matter and Publications regulates all aspects of the media and is considered one of the most restrictive press laws in the Arab world. The law prohibits criticism of the government, allies, and religion, and also bans pornography" ("Freedom House"). Because of this laws ability to be interpreted in a wide variety of ways, it has been abused by the government in many cases, including that of the U.A.E. 94. "The UAE has three media free zones (MFZ)—areas in which foreign media outlets produce print and broadcast material intended for foreign audiences—located in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Ras al-Khaimah. Although these areas are subject to UAE media laws, the press operates with relative freedom" ("Freedom House".) However, the are still subject to U.A.E. media laws, a prime example of which would be the banning of two Pakistani news stations in Dubai (see "Censorship and Oppression in the U.A.E." above). Recent laws have also criminalized the use of information to speak poorly or critically of the government online- resulting in the arrests of many of the family members of the U.A.E. 94 who used social media to discuss their trial.
The government places restrictions on freedoms of assembly and association. Public meetings require government permits. ("Freedom House.") All those who do not comply with these rules are subject to fines and incarceration. Workers are punished harshly for riots or strikes, as all such activities are illegal. If a work leaves his job before two years of service, he or she can be banned from ever working in the U.A.E.. In May 2013, thousands of workers for the construction company Arabtech went on strike demanding better pay. However, the strike was soon crushed, with many workers being deported and rumored police violence at worker's camps.
Bibliography
Battah, Habib. "Blackout raises questions over regs: censorship alleged but
Western congloms happy with Media Authority's broadcast standards." Variety 3 Dec. 2007: A10. General OneFile. Web. 8 Oct. 2014
Crain, Rance. "Dubai's media censorship fuels the 'double standard' it
denounces." Advertising Age 18 Jan. 2010: 13. General OneFile. Web. 9 Oct. 2014.
"Self-censorship has reared its ugly head." Campaign Middle East 26 Jan. 2014.
General OneFile. Web. 9 Oct. 2014.
"Emirates - Ugandan Journalist Sacked Over Critical Book." Africa News Service
11 July 2014. General OneFile. Web. 10 Oct. 2014
The World Factbook. Washington, D.C.: Central Intelligence Agency, 2013. The
Bolded Sections are Quoted Directly From Source Material
NOTES FROM MR FISHON
BE CAREFUL - THE BULK OF THIS WIKI NEEDS TO BE YOUR WORDS. THERE ARE TIMES WHEN IT IS APPARENT THAT THIS IS CUT AND PASTE BECAUSE PARTS REFER TO PREVIOUS INFORMATION THAT IS NOT INCLUDED. ANYTHING THAT IS FROM ONE OF YOUR WORKS CITED SOURCES HAS TO BE CLEARLY DEFINED BY QUOTATION MARKS AND I T HAS TO HAVE A CITATION.
CENTERING THE COPY MAKES IT DIFFICULT FOR THE READER. PLEASE FLUSH LEFT COPY.
BE CAREFUL WHEN REFERENCING PEOPLE AND EVENTS - YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER THAT ANYONE CAN READ THIS WIKI, SO PEOPLE COULD BE CLUELESS AS TO WHAT YOU ARE MENTIONING. BE
Note to Mr. Fishon- Joe and I fixed what we you asked for to the best of our ability, though I would like to point out that the majority of what we posted earlier was in our own words. Admittedly, some of what we wrote sounds a lot like it was taken from the text, but that was simply in effort to maintain the original meaning of the information we learned. All of the direct quotation is now bolded, and I added additional quotations to help further support what we said.
Unlike many of its neighbors, the United Arab Emirates seems to have avoided the “Arab Spring” (a 2011 revolt against many Middle Eastern governments) that has caused so much unrest in the Middle East. In fact, even after the 2008 worldwide slump in economy, the country is thriving. With an average income of $57,744 dollars per person, the U.A.E. is one of the wealthiest countries in proportion to its population. It has benefitted greatly form the discovery of crude oil within the region.
However, in 2011, the country has become subject to much civil unrest. Citizens and journalists alike have been oppressed and treated unjustly by its government. As a result, the FreedomHouse has rated this countries media as being “Not Free.”("Freedom House.")
Journalism Heroes
Just like many other countries experiencing their own inner turmoil, the United Arab Emirates has its own fair share of journalism "martyrs," who have been punished for their efforts to express and uphold their right to free speech and expression. One such prominent martyr is Waleed Al-Shehhi, a human rights defender in the U.A.E. In an earlier case in July 2013, 94 Islamic cyber revolutionaries were apprehended by U.A.E. authorities "seeking to oppose the basic principles of the UAE system of governance and to seize power" ("Gulf Center"). This case, widely covered by both national and international news outlets, has been condemned by the Human Rights Watch, as the case supposedly violated many fair trial guarantee's. One particularly outspoken opponent of the trial was none other than Waleed Al-Shehhi, who was outspoken against this trial on Twitter and other social media websites. In May 2013, he was apprehended by local authorities for violating Federal Legal Decree No.5/2012, which criminalizes the use of "information technology to criticize senior officials, argue for political reform, or organize unlicensed demonstrations" (Freedom House), which has violated many international standards on human rights. He was jailed for two years, and "fined 500,000 dirhams (the equivalent of 137,000 U.S. dollars)". ("Gulf Center".) Both Walleed and many of the revolutionaries were sentenced to several years in prison.
U.A.E. Government andConstitution
The United Arab Emirates is a federal state that was established on the 2nd of December in 1971. its constitution was drafted in 1971, became permanent in 1996, and was last amended in 2009. It consists of seven distinct regions, known as emirates, which are: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Um Al Quwain, Ras Al Kaimah, and Fujaraih.
Each emirate is ruled by a Sheikh, and the seven rulers form the Supreme Council, the most influential legislative body in the United Arab Emirates. "The Supreme Council exhibits both executive and legislative powers. It ratifies federal laws and decrees, as well as the nomination and resignation of a prime minister."("The World Factbook".) The Cabinet, or Council of Ministers, advisors to the executive branch, are appointed by the president. "The Federal National Council is the foremost legislative body in the U.A.E"., proposing new laws and legislation (:The World Factbook".) It consists of twenty members elected by the Supreme Council, and the other twenty are voted on by the nation's people. The current president, Khalifa bin Zayid al-Nuhayyan, was elected by the Supreme Council, will serve for a five year term, though there is no limit to the number of terms he can have.
Despite being a relatively new country in a region fraught with turmoil, the U.A.E. has taken baby steps in insuring human rights are well represented. The country actively follows these human rights conventions:
- Arab Charter on Human Rights
(Above list provided by "Freedom House.")However, many facets of human rights are still ignored. A decree was recently passed criminalizing the use of technology to criticize government officials, however peacefully or respectfully done. In addition, laws prohibit the assembly of peaceful demonstrations. Voting rights are very limited, as citizens may only vote for a small portion of elected officials. Other elections are primarily made by the president or Supreme Council.
Current Events
Currently, the United Arab Emirates haven taken increased measures to provide safety to its people. The Middle East is a warzone in the present day, such as the current conflict between Palestine and Israel. Its close neighbors, Israel and Palestine, are having heated conflicts concerning the distribution of land in Gaza Strip (a small area of land near the edge of Israel.) The conflict has deescalated, and is no longer a physical war, but the United Arab Emirates is still strengthening its defenses. They have plans to spend $7,000,000,000 on defense contracts in the coming days.
Recently, despite its recovering economy, the United Arab Emirates has been experiencing much political turmoil. Many protestors and revolutionaries have called for greater public involvement in government, and it was only recently that the government has begun to heed these calls. In 2012, the U.A.E. outlawed the use of social media to criticize its government, as a result of nearby protests in Bahrain. Al-Islah, a group formed to help create democracy in the U.A.E., has recently been accused of being foreign agents of the Muslim Brotherhood, and has been aggressively cracked down on. This includes the "UAE's recent security actions targeting the local Muslim Brotherhood group al-Islah ("Reform"). Ninety-four individuals -- most of them al-Islah members arrested over the past year -- are on trial for coordinating with foreign groups and plotting to seize power, among other charges, and the crown prince is widely conjectured to be at the center of the clampdown."("Boghardt")
Censorship and Oppression in the U.A.E.
Despite being less prone to inner turmoil that its neighbors, the U.A.E. still insists upon suppressing the freedom of speech within its citizens includes:
January 2014: The Wolf of Wall Street, upon being released in the U.A.E., is found to have almost 45 minutes of content removed from the original. This was done by local movie directors, and hundreds of sex and drug use scenes were removed.
November 2010: Both the The Sunday Times and The Times were ordered off the shelves for painting the rulers of Dubai in an unflattering light. "The Sunday Times featured an illustration of the ruler of Dubai sinking in a sea of debt, and The Times ran a story describing the ruler of Dubai as a "benign dictator"."("Self-Censorship Rears Its Ugly Head")
July 2014: A Ugandan journalist working for the government run English newspaper The National was fired for describing his life in the United Arab Emirates. "The book, titled The Ambitious Struggle: An African Journalist's Journey of Hope and Identity In A Land of Migrants, described the hardships a migrant worked faced in the U.A.E."("Emirates-Ugandan Journalist"). Because the book was not O.K.ed' by his superiors, and painted his boss in an unfavorable light, he was fired. As a result, he must leave the country, and the book is one of many book banned in the U.A.E..
November 17, 2007: Two local Pakistani news station in Dubai are abruptly banned. Although free expression and freedom of speech are guaranteed in Dubai's Media City, the government cited " a sensitive state of affairs" in Pakistan and the city's need to maintain neutrality as reasons for the media blackout.
Journalist Safety
Journalists experience many problems in the United Arab Emirates. One of these would be censorship. Any document that speaks ill of the government can lead to indefinite detention, and torture. The U.A.E. 94, a group of online bloggers, have remained in jail for months for posts they made that violated what the freedom of speech the government allowed in their new cyber crime laws. According to the website Freedom House,
"U.A.E. Federal Law No. 15 of 1980 for Printed Matter and Publications regulates all aspects of the media and is considered one of the most restrictive press laws in the Arab world. The law prohibits criticism of the government, allies, and religion, and also bans pornography" ("Freedom House"). Because of this laws ability to be interpreted in a wide variety of ways, it has been abused by the government in many cases, including that of the U.A.E. 94. "The UAE has three media free zones (MFZ)—areas in which foreign media outlets produce print and broadcast material intended for foreign audiences—located in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Ras al-Khaimah. Although these areas are subject to UAE media laws, the press operates with relative freedom" ("Freedom House".) However, the are still subject to U.A.E. media laws, a prime example of which would be the banning of two Pakistani news stations in Dubai (see "Censorship and Oppression in the U.A.E." above). Recent laws have also criminalized the use of information to speak poorly or critically of the government online- resulting in the arrests of many of the family members of the U.A.E. 94 who used social media to discuss their trial.
The government places restrictions on freedoms of assembly and association. Public meetings require government permits. ("Freedom House.") All those who do not comply with these rules are subject to fines and incarceration. Workers are punished harshly for riots or strikes, as all such activities are illegal. If a work leaves his job before two years of service, he or she can be banned from ever working in the U.A.E.. In May 2013, thousands of workers for the construction company Arabtech went on strike demanding better pay. However, the strike was soon crushed, with many workers being deported and rumored police violence at worker's camps.
Bibliography
- Battah, Habib. "Blackout raises questions over regs: censorship alleged but
Western congloms happy with Media Authority's broadcast standards."Variety 3 Dec. 2007: A10. General OneFile. Web. 8 Oct. 2014
- Crain, Rance. "Dubai's media censorship fuels the 'double standard' it
denounces." Advertising Age 18 Jan. 2010: 13. General OneFile. Web. 9 Oct.2014.
- "Self-censorship has reared its ugly head." Campaign Middle East 26 Jan. 2014.
General OneFile. Web. 9 Oct. 2014.- "Emirates - Ugandan Journalist Sacked Over Critical Book." Africa News Service
11 July 2014. General OneFile. Web. 10 Oct. 2014- The World Factbook. Washington, D.C.: Central Intelligence Agency, 2013. The
World Factbook. Web. 29 Oct. 2014. <https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ae.html>.- Freedom House. N.p., 2014. Web. 29 Oct. 2014. <http://www.freedomhouse.org/
report/freedom-world/2014/united-arab-emirates-0#.VFF_xUvxWX2>.2014. <http://gc4hr.org>.
- Boghardt, Lori Plotkin. "The Muslim Brotherhood on Trial in the UAE." The
Washington Institute. The Washington Institute, 12 Apr. 2013. Web. 2 Nov.2014. <http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/
the-muslim-brotherhood-on-trial-in-the-uae>.
Bolded Sections are Quoted Directly From Source Material
NOTES FROM MR FISHON
BE CAREFUL - THE BULK OF THIS WIKI NEEDS TO BE YOUR WORDS. THERE ARE TIMES WHEN IT IS APPARENT THAT THIS IS CUT AND PASTE BECAUSE PARTS REFER TO PREVIOUS INFORMATION THAT IS NOT INCLUDED. ANYTHING THAT IS FROM ONE OF YOUR WORKS CITED SOURCES HAS TO BE CLEARLY DEFINED BY QUOTATION MARKS AND I T HAS TO HAVE A CITATION.
CENTERING THE COPY MAKES IT DIFFICULT FOR THE READER. PLEASE FLUSH LEFT COPY.Note to Mr. Fishon- Joe and I fixed what we you asked for to the best of our ability, though I would like to point out that the majority of what we posted earlier was in our own words. Admittedly, some of what we wrote sounds a lot like it was taken from the text, but that was simply in effort to maintain the original meaning of the information we learned. All of the direct quotation is now bolded, and I added additional quotations to help further support what we said.